Location on Forum Plan
Via Sacra
Lapis Niger
Curia (Senate House)
Basilica Aemilia
Templum Antonini et Faustinae
Basilica Constantini
Templum Veneris et Romae
Arcus Titi
Regia
Atrium Vestae
Templum Vestae
Templum Juli
Templum Castoris
Basilica Julia
Templum Saturni
Tabularium
Templum Divi Vespasiani
Templum Concordiae
Lacus Curtius
Rostra
Miliarium Aureum
Arcus Septimii Serveri
Carcer (Prison) |
Lacus Curtius
There are three stories about the Lacus Curtius. One is
that the site that had been struck by lightning. The consul Curtius inclosed
the area with a stone fence in 445 B.C. The second story is that at the
beginning of the royal era, a chasm appeared suddenly in the center of the
Forum valley. Soothsayers declared it could be closed only by a sacrifice
of what the Romans hold dear; a youth named Curtius leapt on horseback into
the gap which promptly closed behind him therefore allowing Rome to endure.
The third, is that a Sabine, Mettius Curtius, rode his horse into the swamp
in the center of the Forum to escape Romulus. |